Devotionals

In our justification, we are like beggars before God. All we present is an open hand, asking the Lord for His mercy and grace. Justifying faith is conscious that we deserve nothing but condemnation and does not try to make ...Read More

Justification is by faith alone. We must be clear on that word alone, for without it we do not have the gospel. If we try to add one work of ours to Christ, then we are accountable to do all ...Read More

Nothing can change the fact that we have sinned. But what can change is our status before God’s judgment seat. In justification, our sin and guilt are removed and we are covered by Christ’s obedience, enabling God to declare us ...Read More

On an earthly level, we consider it unjust for a person to be tried for the same crime twice. So it is in our justification by God. It would be unjust for Him to declare us righteous and then go ...Read More

t is easy to look at the wickedness in the world and believe that since we are comparatively more righteous, God approves of us based on our works. In reality, however, none of us has met the perfect standard, so ...Read More

God uses Word and sacrament, according to His good pleasure, to create and sustain faith in His elect. We will benefit from God’s promises only by faith, so merely hearing God’s Word preached and receiving baptism and the Lord’s Supper ...Read More

The good news of the gospel is that Christ obeyed for us. He took upon Himself the yoke of the law, fulfilling it perfectly on our behalf. There is no righteousness of any creature that can be added to the ...Read More

With Augustine before them, the Protestant Reformers insisted that we are not born neutral but rather are born guilty and corrupted. This is what the Apostles taught, and it is what we must remember lest we give unbelievers hope that ...Read More

John Calvin, commenting on Romans 3:20, writes, “[The law] is indeed by itself, as it teaches us what righteousness is, the way to salvation: but our depravity and corruption prevent it from being in this respect of any advantage to ...Read More

When you read the law of God, are you convicted by your own failure to keep it? Although we do grow in our obedience over the course of our Christian lives, we should nevertheless be convicted of how far short ...Read More